


of swing sets and revelations

by lafbaeyette



Series: finding their home [3]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Lafayette, because this is just, i hope you have a sweet tooth, sweet and fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-17
Updated: 2016-03-17
Packaged: 2018-05-27 05:57:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6272527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lafbaeyette/pseuds/lafbaeyette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alexander didn’t want to become one with the birds over Central Park, he didn’t want to wrap his fingers around that feeling of freedom bubbling beneath the surface, because there was nothing he wanted to run from here. He finally had everything he had wanted, and even more. He was in New York, in college, getting the education he’d always wanted so he could do something with his life— and he had friends, and a boyfriend, that loved him and cared about him. He had people, people that loved him and that he loved in return.</p><p>---</p><p>AKA, The One Where Laf Takes Alex To A Children's Playground And He Comes To A Few Not-So-Childish Realizations</p>
            </blockquote>





	of swing sets and revelations

**Author's Note:**

> Another piece from my Finding Their Home 'verse! This one comes a little while after 'of dinner guests and major confusion', and while I don't think you need to read the other pieces of this 'verse to understand this one I would recommend you check out the others if you enjoy this! 
> 
> Really I just wanted to write something about Alex and Lafayette, but of course it verged on into Lams, oops? 
> 
> You may want to make an appointment with your dentist after this one, because it's really just sickeningly sweet.

“Why are you so good at this?” Alexander panted, watching the pleased smirk spread across Lafayette’s lips. They laughed, quirking a brow at Alexander before answering. 

“Because I am French, we are good at _everything_ ,” they responded simply. Alexander narrowed his eyes, huffing as he struggled to keep up with Lafayette, glowering when his foot slipped and Lafayette’s arm immediately shot out to grip his waist. “You must watch your feet, _petit_ _lion_ , I would hate to bring you back to John and have to explain why you are covered in bruises.” They paused, eyes trailing down Alexander’s neck and over a rather impressive hickey that was hardly hidden by his hair, which he wore down today. “At least, more than usual.” 

Alexander flushed, stepping out of their hold and slowly continuing their climb up the rock. Lafayette was, somehow, managing their balance much better than Alexander as they finally reached the top. Alexander could only think of the story they’d been told of Lafayette falling on their face in the middle of a very important ball, which fit perfectly with every time Alexander had seen the elegant Frenchman try to dance, and wondered silently how they had managed such a transformation. Apparently, not so silently, as Lafayette turned on him with their arms crossed over their chest and a pout on their lips. 

“I come here often, I am used to climbing. Now it is… relaxing. If it makes you feel better, I sprained my collarbone the first time I tried to climb a rock in Central Park.” Lafayette turned away once more, as Alexander furrowed his brows. 

“Can you sprain a collarbone?” He asked, but the words died on his tongue as he followed Lafayette to the edge of their rock and saw the view of the park. Central Park was spread out before him, stretching as far as he could see with hills, beautiful green grass, and tall trees, bent and warped in so many directions they appeared to be frozen in a dance. All surrounded by the walls of the city, the buildings stretching high above the trees, reminding him of where he was - the greatest city in the world. The other visitors were so small from here, walking along paths, playing with their dogs or their children, lounging around and enjoying the warm spring day. 

Lafayette gripped his elbow and he reluctantly turned away, letting his friend pull him back along the top of the rock. “ _Allons-y, mon petit lion_ , I believe you will enjoy this.” As if he wasn’t already enjoying this, but Alexander followed without argument, stepping carefully and allowing Lafayette to hold his hand as they began a new ascent onto a higher rock, following Lafayette’s winding path down, dodging children, until they reached a level area. Lafayette stretched their arm out, presenting Alexander with a new view. A playground, full of children laughing and screaming and chasing each other, playing on the equipment, crawling through tunnels.

“I’ve never been to a playground,” Alexander said quietly, and Lafayette nodded slowly, frowning a little. They perked right back up, though, taking Alexander’s hand in theirs again. 

“It is, how they say, ah, better late than never?” They grinned, stepping over a chain separating the rock they had climbed to a platform that was part of the playground equipment. Alexander sidestepped two little boys, chasing each other through a tunnel, smiling as they whizzed by, following Lafayette’s lead all the while. Finally they stopped, at the top of a long, silver slide. Alexander looked at Lafayette, raising a brow. 

“Is there… no other way down?” He asked carefully, eyeing the metal slide, noting how far up they were. Lafayette shook their head. 

“ _Non_ , this is how we must go. You’ve never been down a slide?” Alexander shrugged a shoulder, looking back at his friend with a frown. 

“I guess… not really.” 

“Well,” Lafayette squeezed his hand, dropping down to sit at the top of the slide and tugging at Alexander to follow suit. “I’ll hold your hand and promise not to judge you if you scream.” They watched as Alexander lowered himself, butt at the top of the slide and legs angled down in front of him. He bit his lip, feeling a bit nervous, though he knew slides were completely safe — but this was new, and it looked really steep. He took a deep breath. 

“Okay, should we do this?” He asked, looking at Lafayette and just wanting to get it over with. 

“Wait, wait!” Lafayette let go of Alexander’s hand for barely a minute, just long enough to dig their phone out of their pocket and open up the camera before switching it to the other hand. “This is your first time, we should get it on video.” Lafayette grinned as they hit record. They had recently gotten in the habit of documenting _everything_ , snapping pictures left and right for any occasion they found important — Lafayette had basically turned into an over-excited mother on prom night the night of Alexander and John’s first date. Lafayette made sure they were both in frame, grinning as they said, “Alexander’s first slide. Are you ready?” 

“I don’t know, I gue—” Alexander’s words were cut off with a surprised shout as Lafayette used their legs to begin their drop down the slide, pulling Alexander along. The rush of air blew Alexander’s hair back, his eyes widening as the ground rapidly grew closer, until they finally came to a halt at the bottom. Lafayette laughed as they stopped recording, locking their phone and turning to their friend. Alexander was surprised to find himself laughing as well, hand still gripping Lafayette’s tightly as they stood to let the next set of children have their turn. Alexander turned just in time to catch one brave little toaster taking the slide like a champ, lying on their stomach with their arms spread out in front of them. 

“How do you feel?” Lafayette asked, turning to watch Alexander with an amused smile over their lips. Alexander returned the smile, heart pumping in his chest and he felt sort of childish at how excited a simple _slide_ made him feel. 

“That was fun,” he admitted. “I can’t believe I’ve never done that.” 

“Me either, _mon ami_ ,” Lafayette pocketed their phone as they turned on their hill. “But if you enjoyed that, I think I know something else you’ll _love_.” Alexander followed eagerly behind their long strides, nearly bouncing as the two made their way through the playground. 

“So you come here a lot?” Alexander asked, mostly due to his constant need to fill silence. Lafayette hummed, nodding. 

“I do, I really enjoy the sense of nature,” they explained, eyes scanning the tree tops that they could see just on the outside of the playground fence. “Not that I do not love the city with my whole heart, but sometimes I simply miss the trees and the grass.” 

“Shouldn’t you be used to city life by now?” Alexander laughed, raising his brows as he looked at his friend. “Didn’t you, like, grow up in Paris?” 

Lafayette snorted. “Only since the age of twelve. Not everyone from France grew up in Paris, Alexander. Now, I am not from ‘the country’ as our dear Laurens may know it, but, uh… I grew up with space, at least.” 

“Oh,” Alexander’s eyes fell to the ground, his pace slowing just barely. “Sorry, I just thought-”

“Shush,” Lafayette brought their arm around Alexander’s shoulders, the smile on their lips genuine and calming. “I was only joking, _cher_. I did spend most of my life in Paris - although many in Paris would disagree, I’m not a country bumpkin, I just like trees. _Real_  trees, not the pathetic things you find along the sidewalks, and this is as close as you can really get to them in Manhattan.” 

“Parisians use the term ‘country bumpkin’?” Alexander craned his neck to look back at Lafayette. 

“Not exactly… I hear Laurens use it a lot, and it sounds much kinder than what Parisians would say, honestly.” Lafayette chuckled and Alexander found himself laughing, too, feeling at ease with Lafayette’s deep laugh rumbling next to his shoulder. Alexander still found this to be a weird sensation, the feeling he got in his gut and chest when Lafayette put their arm around him or smiled in his direction. It was notably different than the feeling he got when  _John_ did those things, but it was similar in its warm tendrils that would spiral out through his limbs until his fingertips were tingling — only, dampened. Alexander didn’t have much experience with other people, he had never had ‘friends’ in a traditional sense. There had been his roommate when he first moved in, Aaron Burr, Alexander thought they were friends, but Burr never made him feel this way. Safe, cared for, it was a new experience and Alexander wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it. But he let his lips tilt upward as he leaned a little into Lafayette’s side, all thoughts and strange new feelings aside when Lafayette pulled them to a halt. 

“Perfect, they’re nearly empty,” Lafayette breathed, dropping their arm from Alexander’s shoulders and instead grabbing his arm to pull him toward the nearly abandoned swings. “Swings, these are my favorite. Honestly, I don’t trust anyone that does not enjoy swinging.” 

Alexander had swung before at least, not on a real swing set, only on makeshift swings that the other kids had put up when he was younger. He had loved it then, he could remember the sense of freedom he felt as he swung through the air, almost believing for those split seconds that he could just fly away from everything in St. Croix. He felt a swell in his chest as he returned to the realization that he had managed to do just that. 

“Are you coming?” Lafayette called, pulling Alexander out of his head once again. Lafayette was already in a swing, kicking their legs out to gain some momentum, that smile still plastered across their face. Alexander approached the swing next to Lafayette’s slowly, lowering himself onto the plastic seat and pumping his legs slowly, finding the rhythm relaxing and almost familiar as he gained speed. His hair flew around his face in the breeze, the gush of wind as he cut through the air nearly drowning out the sounds of kids running around them. Alexander let his eyes slide shut, focusing on the burn building in his thighs, the sound of wind rushing past his ears, that sense of freedom crawling back up through his chest, like he could just let go of the chains and fly off the seat — 

But from what? Alexander opened his eyes slowly, turning his head to watch Lafayette’s own peaceful expression as they swung. Their hair was, cleverly, pulled back, their bun moving every so slightly with the wind.

His mind trailed back to John, who he had seen just that morning before he and Lafayette left for the park. They invited John to join them, but he claimed he had far too much homework to do. Alexander certainly appreciated his work ethic, and really couldn’t criticize it as he frequently forgot meals when he got too into his own work, but he wished John could have gone with them. He knew that he would probably spend the remainder of his day in John and Lafayette’s apartment, at least. John would probably be done by the time they got home, at least enough to give Alexander a few minutes of his attention before they both cuddled onto the couch to work on their individual assignments. Alexander found himself enjoying those moments just as much as their more intimate moments alone, just being _near_ John made his heart race and his stomach flip. He couldn’t help but feel elated anytime John would brush his fingers over Alexander’s arm, thigh, or shoulder, as if reminding them both that they were _here_ , together. 

Alexander was hit by another realization he’d find himself returning to time and again. He didn’t want to become one with the birds over Central Park, he didn’t want to wrap his fingers around that feeling of freedom bubbling beneath the surface, because there was nothing he wanted to run from here. He finally had everything he had wanted, and even more. He was in New York, in college, getting the education he’d always wanted so he could _do_ something with his life— and he had friends, and a boyfriend, that loved him and cared about him. He had _people,_ people that loved him and that he loved in return. Alexander had stopped pumping his legs, slowing to an almost stop and pulling his phone out to share these thoughts before he could even think about it.

**_To: My Dearest Laurens:_** _I love you._  

He panicked as soon as he hit send. Had he really just done that? Did he just tell John that he loved him, for the first time, _through a text_? Shit. _Shitshitshit_ , was John going to be angry? Offended? A declaration of that magnitude certainly deserved to be _spoken_ , to be shared intimately and while they were _together_. Alexander hadn’t even thought before he sent the text, he just needed to let John _know_. Because this was _big_ , his heart was beating fast in his chest and he wasn’t sure if it was love or fear or panic, and he nearly missed his phone vibrating in his hand, screen lighting up to show John’s reply. 

**_From: My Dearest Laurens:_ ** _I love you, too, Alexander_

**_From: My Dearest Laurens:_ ** _Should I be alarmed that this came out of a day spent with Laf?_

**_From: My Dearest Laurens:_ ** _And I’m also going to need you to get your ass back here and say that to my face asap so I can respond properly_

**_From: My Dearest Laurens:_ ** _IE throwing you onto my bed and kissing you senseless_

Alexander grinned, harder than he had all day, to the point that his cheeks ached but he couldn’t _stop_ because this is what that felt like. This is what people talked about constantly, that feeling of security and warmth and  _happiness_ that radiated from the very core of your being when you were in love. And Alexander was head over heels for John Laurens. 

**_To: My Dearest Laurens:_ ** _Laurens! I am in a children’s playground, this is no time for naughty texts. ;P_  
**To: My Dearest Laurens:** I will definitely be back soon.  


He pocketed his phone, now completely stilled, and turned to Lafayette, who had also come to a halt. They had a knowing smirk over their face, brow quirked in question. 

“I just told John I love him.” Alexander announced. Lafayette gasped, and Alexander wasn’t entirely sure if it was sincere or mocking, and he wasn’t sure that Lafayette was either. 

“Over _text_?” Lafayette sounded scandalized and Alexander shrugged a shoulder. 

“It kinda just… hit me, and I needed to let him know.” He stood up from the swing. “I don’t wanna end your day out early, but I think I’m going to head back.”

Lafayette sighed heavily, and that, Alexander recognized, was fake. “If you must abandon me to go have sex with the man you _love_ … I suppose I understand.” 

“Lafayette, there are _children_ ,” Alexander scolded, his smile breaking the serious expression he was going for. Lafayette laughed, stretching a leg out to nudge Alexander's hip with the toe of his shoe. 

“Go on, _mon ami_ , I will probably stay out here for a while longer,” Lafayette winked, waggling his eyebrows until Alexander laughed and turned to leave. He paused, turning back to Lafayette. 

“I love you, too, Laf,” he said. “Obviously differently, but… you’re pretty much my first friend… ever.” 

“ _Je t’aime_ , _mon petit lion_ ,” Lafayette replied sincerely. “You are a wonderful friend to have. Now, you can declare your love for me later, you have a boyfriend to go woo. _À bientôt._ ” 

Alexander turned again, following a path out of the playground and finding his way back out of Central Park in record time. He floated on the dreams he finally felt coming true, elated by the feeling of acceptance and love that was overcoming him, all the way back to Lafayette and John’s apartment where he fell happily into John’s arms and repeated those thoughts and revelations to his boyfriend, murmured those three words against his lips until he couldn’t manage words any longer. Until he sank into the mattress next to John, his boyfriend’s arm over his waist anchoring him to this moment, to this life and these people that he couldn’t dream of ever leaving behind. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading, your comments and kudos mean the world to me! It makes me really happy to see that so many of you are enjoying reading this little 'verse as much I'm enjoying writing it. As always, I'm open to suggestions/prompts/questions regarding this 'verse, I'm having a lot of fun expanding into this world. 
> 
> If you wanna yell Hamilton lyrics at me or check out some of the headcanons I've posted for this 'verse or just be friends you should come find me on Tumblr: [@hypeulesnochilligan](http://hypeulesnochilligan.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Bless your sweet eyes for reading this. <3 
> 
> ~ Pip


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